The Diplomat
The Foreign Ministries of Spain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden issued a joint statement yesterday saying they were “deeply concerned” about Israeli raids on six non-governmental organisations operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The statement refers to the raids carried out on the morning of the 18th, “as part of a worrying reduction of space for civil society in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”. “These actions are not acceptable”, it said.
“The progressive shrinking of civilian space in the Occupied Palestinian Territories remains a cause for concern,” the letter insists. It adds: “We stand firmly with NGOs to defend the right to freedom of expression and association in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
A free and strong civil society is indispensable for the promotion of democratic values and for a two-state solution,” it adds. The note recalls that the nine countries indicated on 12 July that “no substantial information has been received from Israel that would justify a review of our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs”, which were designated by Israel as “terrorist organisations”.
As the foreign ministries stated in the July communiqué: “If convincing evidence to the contrary were presented, we would act accordingly”.
